So, yesterday my brother in law and his woman came out to ride. We will be taking the horses to Kanopolis State Park in a week or so and riding for about four days. Dustin and I thought it might be a good idea for these two to come out and start getting their muscles used to being on horseback so they aren't crippled two days into our trip.

Now my BIL has had his eye on one of my geldings for a long time now. Cash is the horse in my profile picture. He is 1/2 Fjord and 1/2 Arabian. He's just enough Arab to be really fun and have a touch of an attitude and enough of a Fjord that he is very sane, affectionate, and built for work. He is also Gorgeous. (And he knows it!)

Cash (because of some other health issues) was not gelded until he turned four. This year he is five and as of yesterday had only had about 6 rides on him. He is wicked smart though and is already neck reining, working off of my leg and seat, and going quietly where ever you point him. My BIL wants to take him to Kanopolis. My BIL is not an experienced rider.

I told him, family or not, I won't allow anyone to sore this horse with bad or sloppy riding. So he came out yesterday and spent hours learning about reining, leg pressure, body language, when to push and when to back off, how to redirect, and about a million other things. He is genuinely interested in learning and those are the people I like best.

I enjoy teaching. I do not enjoy teaching people who nod and agree and then do not apply what they have been taught or let it go in one ear and out the other. I enjoy the ones who will listen, pay attention, and then put what they have learned to good use.

At the end of his "lesson" we went on a short trail ride. We rode down the dirt road for 3/4 of a mile and then went into a rolling pasture. We crossed a creek several times, went uphill and down, and scared up a few deer and quail. Cash and my BIL both handled the entire ride like pro's. We cantered and trotted and I was so proud that, when asked to slow down, Cash dropped immediately from a canter to a walk with no fuss. He has been one of the easiest horses I have ever trained.

He was picked up at an auction mostly dead. I couldn't turn away from him though, something there just cried out to me. We brought him home and really didn't expect him to live. But he did. And he thrived.

He was a giant puppy for my kids. They played with him and led him and brushed him and taught him to come to a whistle. I took him on long walks, sometimes through town, by the railroad tracks, beside traffic, down Main Street, ect. He grew up without being scared of all of these things because he had seen them since he was about 4 1/2 months old. He learned to tie, clip, bathe, trim, carry a blanket, load, and untie himself by the time he was two. Then we discovered that he had some health issues that wouldn't be fully resolved for 2 years. And the training stopped. He never forgot a thing though and when I started working him a month ago, he went to it naturally.

Moral of the story - If you are a beginner, listen and apply direction given. AND Teach your young horses, it makes everything so much easier in the end!